https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Nachana_SomanathaNachana Somanatha - Revision history2026-11-02T08:58:21ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nachana_Somanatha&diff=519730&oldid=prevConradQ41114: starting basic data added tags...2024-05-14T03:24:36Z<p>starting basic data added tags...</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2023}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Nachana Somanatha<br />
| citizenship = [[Vijayanagara Empire]]<br />
| other_names = Nachana Soma<br />
| occupation = Poet<br />
| years_active = 14th century<br />
| notable_works = ''Uttara-Harivamsamu'', ''Vasanta Vilasamu''<br />
}}<br />
'''Nachana Soma-natha''' ([[IAST]]: Nācana Somanātha) was a 14th-century [[Telugu language]] poet from the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] of southern India. He translated the [[Sanskrit]] work ''[[Harivamsa]]'' into Telugu as ''Uttara-Harivamsamu'', and also wrote the now-[[Lost literary work|lost]] ''Vasanta Vilasamu'', an early [[Prabandha (Telugu)|prabandha]] work.<br />
<br />
== Biography ==<br />
<br />
According to a 1344 CE inscription (alternative readings suggest different dates), the Vijayanagara king [[Bukka Raya I]] granted Penchukaladinne village, also known as Bukka-raya-puram, to Nachana Soma-natha.<ref name="VNR_DS">{{cite book |editor1=Velcheru Narayana Rao |editor1-link=Narayana Rao (author) |editor2=David Shulman |editor2-link=David Dean Shulman |title=Classical Telugu Poetry: An Anthology |year=2002 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520344525 |pages=112–113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SFXVDwAAQBAJ }}</ref><br />
<br />
In the [[Colophon (publishing)|colophon]]s of his works, Soma-natha describes himself as a "master of structure/storytelling" (''samvidhana-chakravarti'') and as an "innovative poet" (''navina-guna-sanathudu''). According to [[Narayana Rao (author)|Velcheru Narayana Rao]] and [[David Dean Shulman|David Shulman]], these epithets are justified: Soma-natha contributed to the transition from a [[Puranas|Puranic]] style to the more intense [[Kavya]] style seen in the works of the later poets such as [[Srinatha]].<ref name="VNR_DS"/><br />
<br />
== Works ==<br />
{{Quote box |width=25em |align=right<br />
|quote = <poem><br />
Yes, I’m a whore. And you have power.<br />
You defeated Indra and ordered your men<br />
to catch me. It’s a game for you.<br />
I'm a wreck. What can you get<br />
from this body? The parrot gone,<br />
what use is the cage? Can you make love<br />
without love?<br />
</poem><br />
|source = [[Urvashi]] to [[Narakasura]], who wants to have sex with her, in Nachana Somanatha's ''Uttara-Harivamsamu''<ref name="VNR_DS"/><br />
}}<br />
''Uttara-Harivamsamu'' is Soma-natha's translation of the second part of the [[Sanskrit]] text ''[[Harivamsa]]'',<ref name="VNR_DS"/> with some [[literary adaptation|adaptations]].<ref name="MNS_1995">{{cite book |editor1=M.N. Sarma |editor2=M.V. Sastry |editor3=C.S. Rao |title=History and Culture of the Andhras |year=1995 |publisher=Telugu University |isbn=9788186073070 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTluAAAAMAAJ |page=180 }}</ref> The text features a [[Puranas|Puranic]] theme, but also exhibits an early form of the [[prabandha (Telugu)|prabandha]] genre. According to [[Kandukuri Veeresalingam]], it is better than [[Errapragada]]'s translation of the same text.<ref name="GVS_1968">{{cite book |author=G. V. Sitapati |title=History of Telugu Literature |year=1968 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |location=New Delhi |page=17 |oclc=1208069 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yokOAAAAYAAJ }}</ref> Soma-natha characterized his work as an appendix to [[Tikkana]]'s ''[[Andhra Mahabharatam|Mahabharatamu]]'',<ref name="MNS_1995"/> and like Tikkana, dedicated his work to the god [[Harihara]].<ref name="VNR_DS"/> Veeresalingam states that Soma-natha is better than earlier poets such as [[Nannayya]] and Tikkana in some respects, such as style and language.<ref name="GVS_1968"/><br />
<br />
The 18th century poet Kasturi Ranga-kavi quotes briefly from another work attributed to Nachana Soma-natha: ''Hari-vilasamu'' or ''Hara-vilasamu''. Ranga-kavi uses both these titles: it is possible these were two different works.<ref name="VNR_DS"/><br />
<br />
Soma-natha's ''Vasanta Vilasamu'' is a [[Lost literary work|lost work]], known from a mention by the 18th century poet Kuchimanchi Timma-kavi.<ref name="VNR_DS"/> It featured a full-fledged prabandha style.<ref name="GVS_1968"/><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Telugu poets]]<br />
[[Category:14th-century Indian poets]]<br />
[[Category:Vijayanagara poets]]<br />
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]<br />
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male poets]]<br />
[[Category:Poets from Andhra Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Sanskrit–Telugu translators]]</div>ConradQ41114